novelraw Chapter 163 Never again
Chapter 163 Never again
Chapter 163 Never again
Following the long corridor from the main hall to the east wing, Gu Tang made no attempt to hide her desire to watch the spectacle, squeezing into the east wing room without a care in the world.
It's Gu Lai'an's room. Without a doubt, her father is scolding Gu Lai'an.
"Explain yourself! Where did you get the firewood you brought back from?!" Gu Lianshan was furious. He had already slapped Gu Lai'an on the head when he entered the house earlier.
Gu Lai'an shrank back, still trying to stubbornly insist, "I...I cut it in the mountains..."
"Bullshit! You were only gone for a quarter of an hour, and you didn't bring a single piece of firewood or axe from home! Even if you had eight mouths, you couldn't possibly bring back two large bundles of firewood in such a short time!"
Gu Lianshan grew angrier as he spoke, and kicked him, yelling, "Give me a straight answer! Where did you get that firewood from? Did you steal it from the village?!"
Gu Lai'an couldn't help but look up at his father. Had his father guessed all this?
It seems nothing can be hidden from his father.
He became increasingly flustered, not daring to say a word. He nodded twice with his head down, admitting that he had stolen it from the village.
Gu Lianshan took a deep breath: "Tell me! Whose house did you steal from?!"
"The Xu family's... at the foot of the mountain at the end of the village..." Gu Lai'an stammered, secretly preparing himself for a beating.
The Xu family...
Gu Lianshan's face was ashen.
The Xu family at the foot of the mountain used to be hunters, but now only an old man over fifty years old is left, raising his grandson alone.
When he was young, Mr. Xu could still go hunting in the mountains. In recent years, he has gotten older and his health has deteriorated. He spends about half the year taking medicine, so he rarely goes up the mountain anymore, and his life is very hard.
"That Xu family father and son, one is over fifty and sickly, and the other is only seven years old and can't do heavy work. Those two big bundles of firewood, the old man and the child will have to chop them for a whole day!" Gu Lianshan was so angry that his hands were shaking.
He turned his head and looked around, looking for something handy to beat his son.
But after looking around, he couldn't find anything to punch.
Just then, a laundry mallet was suddenly handed to him from behind.
Gu Lianshan subconsciously took it, glanced back and saw it was his second daughter, who loved to watch the drama unfold.
Gu Tang blinked, looking completely innocent.
Upon seeing the clumsy man appear, Gu Lai'an turned pale and began to back away, trying to find a place to hide.
But the room is tiny, you can see everything at a glance. Want to hide? Where can you hide?
Watching helplessly as his father approached with a club in hand, Gu Lai'an covered his head with both hands, and began to scream pitifully even before being hit.
Gu Lianshan didn't let him scream for nothing; he lashed the man several times with the club in his hand, and the screams became even more agonizing.
After beating him up, he made Gu Lai'an re-tie up the firewood piled up in the corner of the house and carry it on his back, saying he would take him to the Xu family to apologize in person.
The bundle of firewood in Gu Mei's room wasn't forgotten either.
The siblings each stole a bundle, carried it back, and hid it in their own rooms, not daring to put it in the woodshed in the backyard.
Gu Lianshan coldly knocked on his eldest daughter's door.
He had just yelled at his son without any restraint, so his eldest daughter couldn't possibly have missed it. After all, his second daughter had heard it and come to see what was going on, so there was no reason why his eldest daughter, who lived in the east wing, wouldn't have heard it.
But even after he finished cursing, his eldest daughter didn't show her face.
Gu Lianshan had long given up on this girl, so he didn't scold her like he would his son. Instead, he told her indifferently to tie up the firewood in the house, carry it on her back, and go with him to the Xu family to apologize.
Gu Mei was stunned for a moment. She had prepared herself to be scolded before opening the door, but to her surprise, her father didn't utter a single word of reprimand.
In the past, Gu Mei would probably have secretly gloated and provoked Gu Tang, but today, for some reason, she suddenly felt flustered.
"father……"
"Tie the firewood up properly!" Gu Lianshan interrupted her impatiently, not even glancing at her.
Gu Mei's face paled, and she felt increasingly uneasy. For once, she listened to her father's words and neatly re-tied up the firewood in the house, then carried it on her back and left the house.
There was a stove inside, so it wasn't too cold inside. But once she stepped outside, the damp chill instantly seeped through Gu Mei's clothes.
The rain was still falling, and the winter rain was unusually cold. It was carried by the cold wind to the corridor, and some of it fell on Gu Mei's face, making her shiver twice.
Her winter clothes were filled with reed catkins and willow fluff; they looked quite thick, but they weren't very effective at keeping her warm.
It can barely keep you warm in a room with a stove, but it's not enough once you step outside.
The chill kept seeping into my body, and before long my lips turned purple and my whole body was trembling uncontrollably.
Gu Lai'an was the same; he was shivering uncontrollably, as if he had malaria.
Ignoring the siblings' condition, Gu Lianshan handed them the bamboo hat and then led them to the Xu family.
After watching her father leave the courtyard, Gu Tang did not linger in the east wing and turned to go to the main room.
An oil lamp was lit in the main room, but its dim light did not illuminate the room much. Uncle San was sitting at the octagonal table, holding a book and reading by the light.
Seeing Gu Tang enter, Third Uncle put down his book. "Did your father really take people to the Xu family to apologize?"
"Go there. If they want firewood, they'll give you firewood; if they want copper, they'll give you copper. I hope the Xu family won't be too difficult to deal with. If they ask for an exorbitant amount, I'm afraid they might cause some trouble."
Gu Tang frowned slightly. She didn't know the Xu family, nor did she know what kind of temperament the old man and the young man were.
Third Uncle knew Old Master Xu. He sensed Gu Tang's worry and said, "Nothing will happen. The old man and the young man in the Xu family are both honest and kind-hearted. Your father apologized without hiding or avoiding the situation, so the Xu family won't make things difficult for him."
That's good.
Gu Tang breathed a sigh of relief, but ultimately they were in the wrong.
"I'll have my dad take my older brother and sister into the mountains and make them cut two bundles of firewood to deliver to the Xu family. If they're really honest and won't hold it against us, we can't just let it go like that. After all, it's my older brother and sister who are shameless! They actually stole!"
Third Uncle was also worried. They were born of the same father. Back then, Zhu (Gu Mei and Gu Lai'an's biological mother) and Zhang were equally vicious and stupid, but their children were very different.
Gu Mei and Gu Lai'an, siblings, are nothing like their father, Gu Lianshan. Instead, they are just like their mother, Zhu, and have even picked up most of her bad habits.
Zhang's children, Gu Tang and Gu Ping'an, were upright and did not go astray. One was good at making money, and the other had a talent for studying. Anyone could see that the siblings would have a good life in the future.
"There's still a lot of firewood in the woodshed in the backyard that hasn't been chopped. I'll talk to your father about it later. Starting tomorrow, I'll have him make sure your older brother is chopping wood. It'll be a good way to toughen him up and also separate him from your older sister."
Third Uncle could see clearly that Gu Lai'an was a spineless brat who was often instigated by Gu Mei to cause trouble.
"That's good. Let's find him some work to do so he won't cause trouble."
Chopping wood is tiring work, so just let Gu Lai'an chop for half a day. He'll be so tired that he won't have the energy to do anything bad, and all he'll do is eat and sleep.
This method had been tried before, but each time it was obstructed by Gu's parents, who said that her father was tormenting his son.
Now that they've been adopted, the Gu family elders no longer have the right to interfere in her father's discipline of his son. This is a good opportunity to put some pressure on Gu Lai'an. It's probably unlikely they can change his mind, but hopefully, he'll behave himself and not cause trouble in the next few years before they're separated from him.
After deciding on Gu Lai'an's future, the grandfather and grandson chatted for a while. Then, the curtain at the door was lifted, revealing half of Gu Ping'an's body. He said that dinner was ready.
Dinner was ready, but her father, Gu Lianshan, hadn't returned yet.
Gu Tang told her third uncle to eat first, since it was cold and he should sit in bed to warm up after he finished eating.
Third Uncle waved his hand and refused, insisting on waiting for Gu Lianshan to come back to eat. "It's only delicious when the whole family eats together! If I eat by myself first, even if there's meat every meal, it won't taste good."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Gu Tang stopped trying.
The old man had lived alone for many years, and now that he had a family, he naturally cherished the atmosphere of the whole family sitting together to eat.
Gu Lianshan didn't ramble on for too long.
Just as Uncle San said, the Xu family, grandfather and grandson, are both honest people with no ulterior motives.
When he heard that Gu Lianshan's daughter and son had stolen two large bundles of firewood from his house, Old Master Xu was stunned for a moment.
If Gu Lianshan hadn't brought his daughter and son to apologize, he really wouldn't have known about this!
However, this is not a big deal.
It was just two bundles of firewood. The old man personally brought his daughter and son to apologize and return the firewood. Master Xu didn't say a harsh word, only saying that the children were still young and didn't know any better, and that they could correct their behavior in the future.
Gu Lianshan breathed a sigh of relief at how easy-going Old Master Xu was, but he still forced his daughter and son to kneel down and kowtow.
Since you're coming to apologize, you have to put on a show. You can't just try to fool them because they're easy to talk to.
Gu Mei and Gu Lai'an were filled with resentment because of the incident of kneeling and kowtowing. Tears streamed down their faces as they harbored resentment towards the Xu family and their father.
Gu Lianshan clearly saw the hatred in the eyes of the siblings, but he wasn't angry. After saying goodbye to Grandpa Xu, he put on his straw hat and strode into the rain without waiting for the siblings to follow.
The siblings, regaining their senses, hurriedly followed.
Because of the rain, it got dark earlier than usual today. The Xu family's house is a bit far from Third Uncle's house, and they wouldn't dare let the siblings travel alone in the dark.
Gu Lianshan could hear the footsteps behind him, hurried and disorderly, but they showed no intention of stopping to wait for them, and continued to quicken their pace, making their way in the dark.
He's been walking the village roads for decades, and darkness doesn't stop him from hurrying home.
When passing the Gu family's residence, Gu Lianshan suddenly stopped.
Looking at the lights on in the east wing of the Gu family's main hall, he recalled the incident in Bei'an City during the day when he had seemingly found the Wei family member.
He originally planned to wait until it got dark and when there were no people on the road before coming over to tell the father and son what had happened.
But then, the eldest daughter and eldest son were caught stealing firewood.
He was in a bad mood at the moment and had no interest in dealing with the Wei family's affairs.
Withdrawing his gaze, Gu Lianshan continued walking eastward.
He'll talk about Wei's matter when he's in a better mood. She's been missing for so long anyway, a few more days won't hurt.
He walked briskly all the way home, and when he finally got there, Gu Lianshan only had some mud on his feet and his clothes were damp from the rain.
However, Gu Mei and Gu Lai'an, the siblings following behind him, were not so lucky.
The siblings were not used to walking at night and were afraid of the dark night. At first, in order to catch up with Gu Lianshan, the siblings ran.
Unfortunately, they forgot that the roads are slippery when it rains.
The mud on the road was very slippery, and after running only a few steps, the siblings both fell to the ground, their bodies, faces, and mouths covered in mud.
The siblings screamed a few times and soon everything was in chaos.
Even this couldn't make Gu Lianshan in front stop and wait for them.
After Gu Lianshan changed his clothes and shoes, Gu Tang and Gu Ping'an served the food on the table. Just as the family of four was about to start eating, Gu Mei and Gu Lai'an helped each other home.
The siblings were filthy and looked utterly wretched. They had left their straw hats behind and hadn't picked them up. Mud and rainwater dripped from their hair, making them look extremely disheveled.
Gu Lianshan completely ignored this, eating his meal while telling the siblings to go to the kitchen to boil water themselves.
"Boil water and wash yourself clean. When you are clean, then you can sit down to eat."
Is this a disguised way of punishing the siblings?
Gu Tang blinked, feeling that the punishment was useless and ineffective.
In fact, this was not a punishment. Gu Lianshan just didn't want to see the siblings right now, as he was afraid he would be too angry to eat.
He had given up on the siblings and would never care about them again.
The siblings seemed to have sensed something as well.
They weren't so afraid if their father yelled at them.
But their father spoke calmly, as if he were talking to a stranger, without even glancing at them.
Even the dim-witted siblings realized something was wrong; their father shouldn't have reacted this way.
The siblings were filled with anxiety and shivering in the main room. Their clothes were soaked with sweat, and even though a stove was lit in the room, they didn't feel warm. Instead, they felt colder and colder.
The third uncle, sitting in the main seat, glanced at his adopted son and saw him eating his meal by himself, occasionally putting food on Tang's plate, as if he couldn't see Gu Mei and her brother's trembling bodies.
They're all stubborn!
With a sigh, the third uncle could only smile and try to appease the siblings in order to prevent them from continuing their stubbornness.
"Listen to your father, go boil some water to wash off the mud and change your clothes. It's cold, and if you catch a cold while wearing wet clothes, it could be fatal!"
With her third uncle mediating, Gu Mei and her brother's expressions softened, and they stopped arguing.
The warmth in my body was dissipating too quickly, and I couldn't hold on any longer.
Now that there was a stepping stone, the siblings, unusually docile, turned and trembled as they headed towards the kitchen.
After everyone left, looking at the swaying curtain at the door, Third Uncle sighed and told Gu Lianshan about having Gu Lai'an chop wood to temper his temper.
Unexpectedly, Gu Lianshan denied the matter immediately after hearing this, saying, "They are holding a grudge and now hate me to the core. I can't afford to have a daughter and son like that."
"This..." Uncle San was speechless, recalling the siblings' usual behavior and their resentment towards their own father... They really were capable of such things!
"The matchmaker will come the day after tomorrow. If we can arrange a marriage for Mei'er, we'll try to get her married off before the new year. After next spring, I'll settle down and live alone, so that my siblings won't be a burden on the family."